Adjustable golf club



Aug. 12, 1958 J. D. SHOEMAKER ET AL ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB Filed Aug. '7, 1957 28 5' INVENTORS Z6 Z7 S7; oem'a km 20 W12}? ikZ i ATTORNEYS United States Patent 50 ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB John D. Shoemaker and Walter R. Rikli, Pontiac, Mich.

Application August 7, 1957, Serial No. 676,831

3 Claims. (Cl. 273-79) The present invention relates to adjustable golf clubs, and is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, Serial No. 578,802, filed April 17, 1956, and entitled Adjustable Golf Club.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a golf club having an adjustable head pivotally mounted thereon and locked against pivotal action by a plurality of wedging surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf club having a head adjustable throughout a plurality of angles to permit the club to be used under virtually any conditions encountered.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf club having an angularly adjustable head which can be readily adjusted by the player on the golf course using a simple Allen wrench.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a golf club of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use and adjust, and which is durable in service.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the invention.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary grossly enlarged vertical cross-section taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 44 of Figure 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the clampl ing wedge ring.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally a golf club head incorporating the invention.

The golf club head 10 is provided with an angularly extending shank 11 having a socket 12 formed therein. A shaft (not shown) is adapted to be positioned in the socket 12 and secured therein by means of a securing pin (not shown) passing through a transverse bore 13 in the shank 11.

The lower end of the shank 11 is offset at an angle to the axis of the shank 11 as at 14 terminating in a tapered boss 15. A shoulder 16 extends about the ofiset portion 14 at the base of the boss 15, as is best illustrated in Figure 3. A bore 17 extends axially of the boss 15, and a somewhat larger bore 18 extends through the offset portion 14 in axial alignment with the bore 17 and communicating therewith. The bores 17 and 18 form a shoulder 19 at their juncture, as illustrated in Figure 3.

A ball striking member 20 extends laterally from the shank 11 and is provided with a ball striking face 21 on one side thereof and reinforcing ribs 22 on the other side thereof. The ball striking portion 20 is provided with an inwardly tapered socket 23 opening through the shank end of the ball striking portion 20.

A cylindrical bore 24 extends from the inner end of "ice the inwardly tapered socket 23 into the ball striking por tion 20 in axial alignment with the tapered socket 23. The inner end of the cylindrical bore 24 is provided with an inwardly converging annular wall 25 terminating in a threaded bore 26.

An annular ring 27 has a tapered side edge 28 and a reversely tapered side edge 29 arranged thereon. The ring 27 engages in the cylindrical bore 24 with the tapered side 29 thereof in at least partial engagement with the converging wall 25.

The inner terminal end of the tapered boss 15 is provided with an internally tapered end wall 30 which engages the tapered side edge 28 of the ring 27. A bolt 31 having a threaded portion 32 formed thereon extends through the bore 17, the ring 27, and is threadedly engaged in the threaded bore 26 to secure the ball striking portion 20 to the shank 11. The bolt 31 is provided with a head 33 which is snugly received within the bore 18 of the shank 11 and engages against the shoulder 19 in securing the ball striking portion 20 to the shank 11. The head 33 of the 'bolt 31 is socketed for operation by an Allen wrench of conventional construction.

The ball striking portion 20 is provided adjacent the shank 11 with indicia markings 34 and indicia index lines 35, and the ofiset portion 14 of the shank 11 is provided with an indicator line 36 which is adapted to cooperate with the indicia index lines 35 and the indicia 34 to indicate the angular position of the ball striking portion 20 with relation to the shank 11. The provision of the index lines 35 and indicator line 36 permits the ball striking portion 20 to be adjusted to a predetermined point for predetermined conditions whenever desired.

In the use and operation of the invention, the ball striking portion 20 is adjusted angularly with relation to the shank 11 by first loosening the bolt 31 and then rotating the ball striking portion 20 on the tapered boss 15 until the desired angular adjustment is achieved. The bolt 31 is then tightened, forcing the tapered boss 15 into the tapered socket 23 and compressing the ring 27 between the tapered walls 25 and 30 to lock the ball striking portion 20 rigidly in adjusted position with respect to the shank 11.

The tapered edges 28, 29 on the sides of the ring 27 are serrated as at 37 to increase the frictional contact between the ring 27 and the adjacent portions of the ball striking portion 20 and shank 11.

It should be noted that the ring 27 is formed of hardened steel and that the ball striking portion 20 is spaced from the shoulder 16 so as to permit the shank 11 to be completely tightened into the ball striking portion 20 without being limited by the shoulder 16.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An angularly adjustable golf club head comprising a shank, an oifset extension formed on one end of said shank, a tapered boss projecting from said offset extension, s-aid boss and said offset extension having a shouldered bore extending therethrough, an inwardly tapered annular end wall formed on the outer end of said tapered boss, a ball striking portion, said ball striking portion having a tapered socket formed therein engaging said tapered boss, said tapered socket having a cylindrical bore extending inwardly therefrom, an inwardly tapered annular end wall formed on said ball striking portion at the inner end of said cylindrical bore, said ball striking portion having a threaded bore extending axially inwardly from said cylindrical bore, an annular ring having oppositely tapering side edges positioned in said cylindrical bore with the tapered side edges thereof engaging the striking portion is provided with angle indicating indicia, and-said offset portion of said shank is provided with cooperating indication means.

References Cited in the file of this natent UNITED STATES PATENTS Perkins Aug. 3, 1926 Chamberlain et al Jan. 24, 1950 

